“I got to be in a band with the dude for some years,” Morello told SiriusXM in a new interview, describing Cornell as “one of the greatest rock singers of all time.” “From his spectacular rock-god presence to his tremendous creation of melody to his very unique voice, I think his greatest contribution might have been that he and his band, Soundgarden, with the help of one or two other groups – maybe Jane’s Addiction and Living Colour – redeemed hard rock music," he said.

“Because, growing up on hard music, it was about groupies and the devil, and those were the subject matters," he noted. "[Soundgarden] was music that combined nuances, poetic intelligence in the lyrics, but with unapologetic kicking your ass with rock ’n’ roll. And I was like, ‘Oh my gosh, that’s for me!’”

He added that Cornell’s approach had “opened the door” for bands from his own band Rage Against the Machine, as well as for Tool and Smashing Pumpkins. “All of it was … Chris and his embracing those two things – the hard rock music and the intelligence,” he said.

“We haven’t figured out exactly what’s gonna happen,” he said. “But as soon as they called up I was enthusiastic about being able to play to honor and celebrate the life of Chris. ... It’s not gonna be some mournful, dreary thing – it’s gonna be about his awesome music.”